TOP BABY NAMES OF 2009 RELEASED: Rank indicators as compared to previous year:up down up more than 10 ranks down more than 10 ranks same rank new on charts Male Female 1 AIDAN/AIDEN/ADEN 1 AMELIA/EMILIA 2 NOAH 2 ISABELLA/IZABELLA 3 LIAM 3 AVA 4 CAYDEN/CADEN/KAYDEN/KADEN 4 SOPHIA/SOFIA 5 ETHAN 5 OLIVIA 6 JACKSON 6 MADELINE/MADELYN/MADELYNN 7 LANDON 7 LILY/LILLY … Read More
Americans Distrust Government
The Pew Research Center released a report yesterday showing that more Americans distrust their government now that at any point in the last half century. This is the lede chart: While this might reflect badly on Obama, and spell bad news for Democrats in the upcoming elections, I think this is more of a "dog bites man" story. Traditionally, mistrust in … Read More
More About The Comprehensive NYT/CBS “Who ARE These Tea Party People” Poll
The New York Times went out and solicited several diverse and well-written op-eds about their Tea Party poll making headlines today. Go here.
Poll Of Tea Party Activists And Supporters Reveal Things We Know And Things We Believed
And speaking of polls, Digby has a nice summary of the VERY comprehensive poll of teabaggers conducted by the New York Times and CBS, both of whom have excellent write-ups of their own (with graphics, etc.). The bottom line is that they are pretty much what you think they are — Republicans, except they're a bit angrier and a bit … Read More
Ten Lowest-Polling Tea Party “Action Items”
The Tea Party Patriots took a poll of their rank-and-file to see what the top ten "action items" for the movement are. They are: 1. Protect the Constitution2. Reject Cap & Trade3. Demand a Balanced Budget4. Enact Fundamental Tax Reform5. Restore Fiscal Responsibility & Constitutionally Limited Government in Washington6. End Runaway Government Spending7. Defund, Repeal, & Replace Government-run Health Care8. … Read More
Nothing Succeeds Like Success
One of the oft-heard memes these past few days from Republicans is that the new health care law was "rammed down the throats" of the American people who are (supposedly) "overwhelming against it". Republicans cited various polls showing that the majority of Americans (albeit not an "overwhelming" majority) disfavored Obama's health care bill. The problem with making that argument, as … Read More
The Golden Issue: Campaign Finance
If the Democrats were smart, they will take this issue and own it. The issue: the recent Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, where the Supremes ruled 5-4 that corporations have the same rights as individuals when it comes to political speech and can therefore use their profits to support or oppose individual candidates. The decision appears … Read More
And America Admires….
Barack Obama the most. It's a blowout according to this USA Today/Gallup poll. He's at 30% compared to the runner up George Bush, with a paltry 4%. And for women, Hillary Clinton beat out Sarah Palin, 15% to 14% Cue conservative head explosions.
Time, Please Define “Mattered”
It's that time of year when Time magazine comes out with its "Person of The Year" accolade, usually to much guffawing and consternation. And to be honest, the Time award thing really has gone downhill since I won it in 2006. So Time chose Ben Bernake this year, which is a fine choice, to the extent that he embodies the … Read More
Poll Of The Day: Only 53% Of Americans Say Capitalism Is Better Than Socialism
This comes from Rasmussen Reports which, as polling firms go, tends to be woefully inadequate and partisan (to the right). But it is still astonishing. Now, this survey doesn't mean that 47% of Americans think socialism is better. The question was quite simply: "Which is a better system – capitalism or socialism?" The response: 53% Capitalism 20% Socialism27% Not sure … Read More